How to run an efficient warehouse

26th February 2015

Running an efficient warehouse is no simple undertaking, with a considerable number of processes involved in order to keep this facility running smoothly and operating at its best. More than any other business space, a warehouse requires the right processes and procedures to keep it running at an optimal level.

For any warehouse looking to address efficiency, the first step is to understand the existing situation of your warehouse. Along with routine information like how fast stock is moving and where this is positioned within this space, consider other factors like what routes vehicles take within a space.

This deeper analysis of how every part of a warehouse is operating is an essential step in benchmarking your existing performance and identifying gaps.

Once you have taken this step, consider shifting certain aspects of your warehouse to improve the different issues they encounter. For example, if multiple forklifts are operating in the space and spend a large amount of time navigating narrow access ways, consider widening these to prevent bottlenecks.

In a larger warehouse, it may be a good idea to trial these changes in a smaller corner and establish a warehouse within a warehouse in order to trial new techniques and strategies.

It will also be important to integrate business management software to help manage the running of a storage environment. Having this information at your fingertips can help to ensure that any improvements in performance can be easily identified.

Finally, once improvements have been made, it is important to regularly review these changes and ensure any new developments are accounted for in your warehouse management. If you introduce a new product line or customer orders begin to change it will be necessary to rethink and adjust your existing arrangements.